The aim of language is communication

If someone can’t understand what you are saying, then this can be very frustrating. By improving your English accent, you will be able to communicate more effectively. You will be clear and understandable. Plus you’ll feel great!

Is this “accent reduction”?

I don’t like the terms accent reduction or softening because they suggest you will lose your accent. In fact, you are simply changing some sounds in your accent. Accent modification would be a better term, or even accent acquisition as you are learning the skills to pronounce words differently.

My philosophy is that you simply have a Spanish/Chinese/French/[insert your language] accent and we are moving you towards an English one. There is nothing wrong or unattractive about a Spanish/Chinese/French/etc accent, but you may want to adopt English sounds so that everyone understands you when you speak English.

Pronunciation is rarely taught in schools

Teachers often focus on grammar and reading comprehension. For this reason, many English learners find speaking much harder than reading and writing.

Lots of English sounds are not found in other languages

English is unusual in that it has a large vowel system. The Standard English Accent has around 20 vowels. Many languages have just 5-7 vowels. We represent these 20 vowels using only 6 letters of the alphabet (a, e, i, o, u, & y) – so it is no wonder that many learners are confused about which sound to use.

So how do I improve my accent?

Take my online course, which is tailored according to your native language. It includes games, video lessons and plenty of practice material!